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It was announced on November 2, 2009 that Interstate Bakeries Corporation was changing its name to Hostess Brands! As a long-time Hostess cakes fan, I thought this was pretty substantial news.
Interstate Bakeries Corporation has also been known at different times as Interstate Brands Corporation, Interstate Brands Companies, IBC Holdings Company and Interstate Baking Company. IBC has a long history before acquiring Hostess in 1995, including Dolly Madison cakes and Drake's cakes among other brands.
I thought I would post a little history of the Hostess brand name and the companies responsible for making such tasty treats as Hostess Twinkies, Hostess Ding Dongs and Hostess Fruit Pies. After doing some extensive research, I found a fair amount of inaccurate information out there on the internet. Here's a summary I put together which should be reliable enough:
- 1919 - Continental Baking Company creates their "CupCakes", though not branded as Hostess yet.
- 1925 - Hostess brand name started as part of Continental Baking Company (CBC) when CBC bought Taggart Bakery, makers of Wonder Bread.
- 1930 - James Dewar invents the Twinkie for CBC in Indianapolis.
- March 1967 - Hostess Ding Dongs are created.
- April 1967 - Hostess Ho Hos are created in San Francisco.
- September 13, 1968 - ITT Corporation (International Telephone and Telegraph) bought CBC, making it a wholly owned subsidiary, forming ITT Continental Baking Company (ITT Continental) with headquarters in Rye, NY.
- 1970-1971 - Hostess mascots such as Twinkie the Kid, Captain CupCake, King Ding Dong and others are created by artist Don Duga to represent products in animated commercials.
- October 9, 1984 - ITT sold CBC to Ralston-Purina (RP). RP retained the CBC name as a subsidiary, headquartered in St. Louis, MO.
- 1984-1995 - As far as I've been able to tell, the Ralston-Purina (RP) name and "checkerboard" logo were never used on Hostess packaging. Products still maintained the Hostess and Continental Baking Company names.
- July 24, 1995 - Interstate Brands Corporation completed purchasing CBC from RP.
- 1995 - The Continental Baking Company name was no longer used at this point.
- 1995 - Interstate Brands Company changes its name to Interstate Bakeries Corporation and the headquarters was in Kansas City, MO.
- 2009 - IBC corporate headquarters moved to Irving, TX (near Dallas) after emerging from bankruptcy.
- November 2, 2009 - Interstate Bakeries Corporation changes company name to Hostess Brands.
Despite all of the changes over the years, the Hostess brand name has remained steady and strong for nearly 85 years!
Here are some Hostess logos over the years.
Late '60s to early '70s bird logo (courtesy of Jason)
1970
1977
1978
1991
2001
2008
2000 IBC
2008 IBC
1978 Freshness Pledge
1991 Freshness Pledge
2000 Quality Pledge
Sorry for the boring post, but as a fan and collector of Hostess items, I think it is important to know some of the history.
For those who stuck it out to the end of this post, you are hereby rewarded with this YouTube commercial posted by FuzzyMemoriesTV and featuring Twinkie the Kid and Fruit Pie the Magician.
Thanks for your dedication to American advertising, Waffle Whiffer. If no one else appreciates your research, you know I do!
ReplyDeleteAmerican TOYcoon
[:::] American Toycoon -- Thanks! Our numbers may be small, but we continue to press on.
ReplyDeleteSIGH... I SO miss King Ding Dong, Twinkie the kid, and the Magician. I remember Twinkie the Kid was at an old Alpha Beta supermarket in California when I was 6. He was handing out free twinkies. It's things like this that make me such a fan of the old advertising mascots and promotions.
ReplyDeleteIt seemed like companies used to be way more creative when it came to marketing, and were more dedicated to their campaigns. It was all just so much more magical two decades ago. Maybe that's why I love collecting advertising figures and toys so much.
Great post!! I'm going to add you to my blog roll tonight.
Cheers!
[:::] Dad -- Those were the good old days! Thanks for stopping by the blog.
ReplyDeleteGood job on the history lesson waffle Wiffer. I Started as a Hostess Cake Sales Rep. in St louis June 1960. I retired in 1993 as Sales Manager of Hostess Cakes Indianapolis. Since retirement I have been the Editor of the Hostess/Wonder "Excons" Retiees Newsletter.
ReplyDeleteI knew Jim (Jimmy) Dewar, he was a smart and wonderful person. Prior to naming Twinkies some had suggested other names but none seemed to fit the wonderful little cake that started with banana cream filling.(due to the banana shrtage in WWII they went with vaniia filling) One day, during a visit to the St louis bakery, Jimmy was driving near 12th and Delmar streets in St louis and noticed the Twinkle Toe Shoe Factory sign, and the rest is history.
I'll mention your site in the December issue of the newsletter.
[:::] Everett -- Thanks for the kind words and for visiting my blog! Hostess products and the old characters are important to my collection and my personal memories. I would love to chat more with you about your time at Hostess! Please e-mail me if you'd like -- wafflewhiffer@gmail.com -- Thanks! = Brandon
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